This article originally appeared on Express Computer.

In the early 2010s, eCommerce in India was still a desktop story, limited mostly to urban users with reliable broadband.  Then came smartphones and affordable mobile internet and everything changed. By 2016, India already had over 300 million smartphone users, and mobile quickly overtook desktop as the main gateway to the internet.

Today, more than 90% of internet access in India happens on mobile. Without it, marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra wouldn’t be anywhere close to the size they are. Mobile didn’t just open up new markets—it pulled millions of new consumers from Tier 2, Tier 3, and beyond into the world of eCommerce.

It’s hard to imagine today’s GMV numbers if we were still depending only on desktop. Mobile reshaped eCommerce by making access effortless. And now, in 2025 and beyond, something just as big is happening, not around access, but around action. Agentic AI is about to transform eCommerce even more deeply than mobile ever did.

The Margin Squeeze: Why Action Matters Now

eCommerce is more competitive and more complex than ever before. Margins are under pressure. Marketing and customer acquisition can eat upto 40–60% of GMV. Global instability is pushing input costs up, and supply chains are harder to manage. Marketplaces are taking a bigger bite of the pie through commissions and advertising. Founders aren’t just chasing growth, they’re chasing profitability.

The first instinct is to turn to data. But here’s the catch: most brands are swimming in it—and still struggling to make decisions. Data is spread across ad platforms, storefronts, warehouses, and support systems. It’s messy, inconsistent, and time-consuming to clean.

That’s where Agentic AI comes in.

From Data Overload to AI That Acts

Unlike traditional AI tools that just analyse and advise, Agentic AI goes a step further—it takes action. It can rewrite ad copy, reprioritise inventory, and respond to shifting demand patterns, all without waiting for a human to click “go.”

But there’s a catch: for Agentic AI to work, the data behind it needs to be clean, real-time, and integrated. That’s not easy.

eCommerce businesses deal with fragmented data—from Content & Catalogues to Orders and Inventory, from Ad Campaigns to Promotions and Discounts, to Warehouse and Delivery logs. Each platform speaks a different language. Cleaning and unifying this data take serious infrastructure and discipline. And if you’re not doing it in real time, your decisions are already outdated.

Studies show that businesses lose up to 12% in revenue to bad data, wrong product forecasting, inefficient marketing spend, or simply missing what customers are trying to tell them. Clean and structured data isn’t just a tech checkbox, it’s a business advantage.

How Agentic AI Changes the Game

Once the data foundation is set, AI starts to show its real power. Content that once took hours to write can now be generated in seconds—SEO-optimised, translated, and tailored to specific customer groups. Visual assets can be created on demand, aligned with campaigns and customer sentiment.

On the operations side, AI helps brands predict demand, manage inventory, and prevent stockouts or overstocking. It flags issues in the supply chain or fulfillment process before they become costly problems, helping teams move faster and smarter.

And when it comes to marketing, today’s AI does more than just A/B test. It personalises promotions in real time, adjusts pricing dynamically, and sends tailored messages based on browsing behavior or purchase intent. Even abandoned cart flows are smarter—AI understands why a customer dropped off and adjusts the response accordingly.

What ties all this together is organised, connected data. It’s what powers the AI to move from being a passive assistant to a proactive agent. When every part of the business feeds into a unified data layer, AI isn’t just helping—you’ve got a system that’s constantly optimising across content, operations, and customer experience.

The Next Leap

This shift is already underway. Agentic AI isn’t science fiction, it’s the new standard. And the brands that adopt it early will have a massive edge. While mobile gave eCommerce its reach, Agentic AI is giving it intelligence.

In a world of tighter margins, rising expectations, and faster cycles, the winners won’t just be the ones who move quickly. They’ll be the ones who move smart.

Authored By Prem Bhatia, Co-Founder and CEO, of Graas.